Working, Resting, & Laziness

Rhythms of life take different forms as complex structures adding texture to the world. The changing of the seasons; the circle of coming to life, living, and dying; the rhythm of the days, weeks, months, and years, are each a parcel of intricate patterns regarded as life. Work and rest happen to be among these cycles of life. As important as work is to life, so also is rest.

Work not being joyful or easy makes rest seem like a no-brainer. Then again rest is not as easy as it seems. Rest should be easy, I mean laying about doing nothing seems rather simple, but rest is more than just not doing something. Rest should be the ceasing of activity resulting from the reasonable routine of completed work, to which God has appointed man. God also rested, establishing a pattern for his creaturely beings in Genesis 2:2, “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.”

Rest is simple, but not easy. Even God rested, enjoying the goodness of His work. Maybe you find rest easy, even so many people don’t. My day of rest easily turns to work or an anxious wait till work starts again. Working when one is supposed to be resting is often justified by, “there is so much to do, I don’t have time to rest!” However work without rest will almost always result in diminishing returns.

There is a humility to rest, demonstrating everything does not depend upon our constant control. When we sleep or when we take a day of rest the world still turns, life still goes on. The humility of rest is a reminder of our creaturely status.

A life without purposive rest will neither be productive or fulfilling. Work absent of rest will be inefficient and lack the satisfaction of fruitful results. Here is a personal challenge — work purposefully and rest purposefully. How is your rest?